Growing Insurgency In South Asia

Dr. Trilochan Upreti

The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) is one of the poorest regions in the world. Inhabited by 25 per cent of the global population, the region exhibits, perhaps, the most disproportionate gap between the haves and have-nots as far as income is concerned.

Infuriated by such discrimination and the wide gap in incomes and opportunities, insurgencies against the status quo has become a common phenomenon in the entire region, and no nation has remained unaffected by the effect.Hot spotsNepal witnessed a terrible insurgency unleashed by the Maoists for over a decade. It claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people and destroyed property worth billions of rupees. At the moment, the problem is being sorted out by bringing the Maoists into mainstream politics and accommodating them in the parliament and the government following the conclusion of a 12-point agreement and a comprehensive peace accord between the Maoists and the Seven Party Alliance. However, the peace process has been witnessing several upheavals and twists and turns. The common agenda of all the political parties in Nepal is holding the constituent assembly (CA) polls, but whether it will be held remains a big question. The consequence of the insurgency has been suicidal for the economic development of Nepal, which has pushed the country back by at least 30 years in terms of stability and prosperity.In India, the far eastern region of Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur and Kashmir have been hot spots where an insurgency has been brewing for quite some time.

The problem of Punjab was thought settled forever, but it appears that there have been recent efforts in the United Kingdom to revive the Khalistan movement. A conference at a Gurudwara in Birmingham sought to revive the Khalistan movement and brought together secessionists from Nagaland, Kashmir and Assam on the same platform.It was supported by a member of the British House of Lords, Nazir Ahmad, and also a member of the British House of Commons, Khalid Mehmood, who endorsed the struggle for Khalistan. They spoke of the people's right to self-determination in other parts of India, including Kashmir. Various Sikh organisations operating from the UK and leaders like Jagjit Singh, among others, had participated in this meeting in which the message of Mr. Muivah was read out by the organisers. Besides, India has been engaged in a long dispute and insurgency in Kashmir and in the eastern states of Assam and Meghalaya. India spends heavily on the military trying to contain the insurgency, which again occupies a good deal of the government's time. If the money spent on the military in these states were to be spent on development activities, they might have achieved a lot more progress and stability. India has fought two wars with Pakistan over Kashmir and Bangladesh, and tensions continue to surface from time to time, which is a setback to economic activities.

India has become the largest arms importer in the developing world. It spent as much as IRs 44,009 crore (around $ 10.5 billion) on importing military hardware and software in the past three years.One can find the Singhbahini and Chakma insurgencies in Bangladesh, which are seeking independence. This has led to a resources crunch in the already poverty-stricken country. Apart from this, the increasing influence of the fundamentalists and their activities have become a major obstacle for stability and economic development of Bangladesh, where the gap between the haves and have-nots is increasing rapidly.Bhutan is also on the brink of a civil war. If the Druk regime fails to understand the sensitivity of the refugee problem and strive for a timely and fair resolution, then it is certain to be entrapped in a long civil war. That is bound to happen because the regime, rather than attempting to resolve the problem sincerely, is trying to expel more people from its territory. The Druk regime is buoyed by the American Government's decision to settle the Bhutanese refugees, who have been languishing in Nepalese camps, in the United States. Some other developed countries have also shown their interest in settling the refugees. The international community has failed miserably in preventing the exodus of refugees following a campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out systematically by the Bhutanese regime.

It is shameful for a country like India, which is referred to as a regional power aspiring for permanent membership of the UN Security Council and likes to be called the biggest democracy of this globe, to be supporting such atrocities of Bhutan. Pakistan has been suffering from the independence campaign emerging in the provinces of Sind and the North East Frontier.

A major problem is the fair allocation of water resources of the Indus basin. At the moment, there is complaint that Punjab has deprived Sind of its appropriate share of water and is destroying its agriculture. The border area with Afghanistan has always been a problem not only for Pakistan but the world community as well. It is strongly believed that the leader of Al Qaeda is hiding inside the difficult hilly terrain of Pakistan.Sri Lanka has suffered heavily from the civil war for the last 20 years, in which more than 70,000 people have been killed.

Its economy would have obtained near developed status had there been no civil war during this period. Maldives remains disturbed for the establishment of democracy. The democrats and government supporters have been fighting one another for several years. A few years ago, a group of mercenaries carried out a coup, in which the government of India protected the regime by sending its military to Male and defeating the mercenaries.Economic developmentThe south Asian nations need to find out why insurgencies are breaking out and accordingly sort out the problems and move forward for economic development. They can no longer afford to lose time, money and resources fighting their own people. They need rather to focus on development and make their lives prosperous. Otherwise, the region will be left far behind.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 31 , 2007